| Michael Lewis | Jeffery Stefancic The University of Michigan |
The New New Thing chronicles the life of Silicon Valleysuperstar Jim Clark. Clark is the pioneer who founded corporationssuch as Silicon Graphics and Netscape and who at the time of it'soffering had the largest single day opening for an IPO in historywith his health care industry startup, Healtheon. From his ruralupbringing in West Texas where he was labeled as a "cutup" andexpelled from high school his junior year, to self-teaching himselfenough material to earn a Ph.D. in Computer Science, to inventing thecomputer chip that spawned Silicon Graphics, Clark is depicted byLewis as a genius who is always on a quest for the next greatinvention in technology.
Intertwined with the chronicle of Clark is the compelling story ofone of Clark's passions-sailing. Lewis details Clark's desire to notonly have one of the largest personal sailing boats ever built, butto have one built that is completely operated by a series ofcomputers. The Hyperion is custom designed and built to thespecifications of Clark and is stated to be more complex then the 747jumbo jet. Once operational, Lewis portrays many of the intimatedetails that provide insight into what drives Jim Clark to the levelshe desires.
Clark is painted as a character that is never satisfied with thelevel he has reached. After laying the foundation for Netscape, whicharguably changed the face of personal computing forever, Clark wasbusy planning for Healtheon, which was designed to bring all of themajor players (patients, insurance companies, health care providers)together to eliminate many of the hassles that had become commonplacewithin the health care industry. After stating that he would retireonce he became an "after-tax billionaire", Clark set his sights onreaching the next monetary level. It is clear from Lewis's story thatClark is not one to sit still for a long while.
The New New Thing was an easy read that had a good pace to it. Itis not so bogged down in business and technical jargon that a novicecould not understand what the author is trying to explain. Eventhough the story behind the design of Clark's dream vessel Hyperionis not the main focus of the story, I would have liked Lewis to spenda little more time outlining the process of the design of this ship.Overall, if you are looking for a glimpse into what it is like to beon the cutting edge of innovative thinking and technology, then TheNew New Thing may be just the book for you.
Lewis, M. (2000) The New New Thing, A Silicon Valley Story.W. W. Norton & Company. New York, New York.